Online fraudsters target seller and investor in Carinthia

Two people in Carinthia have lost money to online fraud, ORF reported. A woman selling clothes on a platform lost a four-figure amount, while a 48-year-old man from the Klagenfurt-Land district lost several tens of thousands of euros in a fake investment scheme.

On Tuesday, an unknown person contacted the woman about a pair of trousers she was offering for sale. During the exchange on a messaging service, the person sent her a link and asked her to follow it to check her bank details and confirm that her account existed.

The fraudster told her that a subsequent transfer was only a virtual test payment. The woman followed the link, entered her account details and PIN, and confirmed the transaction with a TAN. The person then accessed her account and made several transfers. The card limit was also increased before another transfer was made.

The 48-year-old man was directed to an investment platform through an online link. An advertisement featuring an artificial intelligence-generated ZIB show with a well-known presenter promoted an investment opportunity. The man made three payments through the websites ortexgruppepros.com and Tokenum.io.

When he tried to withdraw what he believed were his profits, a broker demanded another payment. The man then realised he was being scammed and did not pay. His total loss amounts to several tens of thousands of euros.